


never let me go

by AngelycDevil, ImagineTheHaus



Series: ITH Holiday Special 2k16 [23]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 2 days to Haus Christmas, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Will stays by his boy, all the feelings, anger tw, come talk to me about this, derek loses his chill, derek needs a hug and some love, i have all the feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9069553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelycDevil/pseuds/AngelycDevil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineTheHaus/pseuds/ImagineTheHaus
Summary: Imagine the non-Christmas celebrating Hausmates searching for an open restaurant on the 25th.





	

It starts with a _smack_ and a groan. Then, into the howling, frozen night, “I SAID LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!”

Lardo and Dex are on the stairs before the _bang!_ ricochets through the Haus.

“What the hell, man?” Lardo calls out as they race up the stairs. No one answers. They get on the landing to see Adam in front of Bitty’s closed room and Chris peering out of his, slack-jawed.

“Holtz?” Lardo’s voice goes all soft as she pulls him away, but Dex can’t take his eyes off Bitty’s door. Nursey was in there. Nursey was sleeping. Nursey who is the definition of calm and collected… _chill._ Adam had only wanted to ask if Nursey wanted Chinese or Middle Eastern. It’d been a tie between the four of them without Nursey.

Dex flings the door open and closes it behind him, ignoring Adam’s distressed sound.

Derek’s head snaps up when Dex walks in, his mouth curled in a tight sneer. He doesn’t relax when he sees it’s only Dex. Dex never expected him too, but…things have been better. Between them. He thought his presence might be a comfort to him.

Dex doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know _what happened_. Derek has never…

“I—” he starts. He snaps his mouth shut when Derek stalks towards him in response.

His warm liquid eyes are now steel, are now— “Whatever you’re gonna say, don’t. Just leave me alone. _Back off!_ ”

 _Oh, is that how it is._ Dex grew up with a big family. Everyone lived in the same town or the town over. Which meant a lot of men, testosterone. Which meant a lot of posturing. Dex learned to hold his own real young, so he matches Derek’s smirk and pushes back. “Not really my style, Malik.” Before Derek can respond, he continues, “you’re coming whether you want it or not. It’s Christmas. Would’ve never taken _you_ for the Grinch.”

Anger snaps through Derek’s eyes and Dex is backed up against the wall before he knows it. He gasps from the sudden movement, not pain, but Derek’s eyes widen nonetheless and he stumbles back, shock filtering through his eyes. His shoulders deflate, shadows in the dark room, and Dex straightens. He counts to twenty, to slow his heartbeat, to even out his breathing. Twenty seconds of silence before Derek grabs his jacket and leaves in a flurry of activity. By the time Dex can respond, the main door slams shut and Dex is pressing small, firm circles into his forehead. _What the fuck, Nurse…_

“Lardo, you have a car, right? Take Chris and Adam to that Middle Eastern place. Derek and I will meet you there,” he calls out as he shoves his arms through his jacket and grabs enough scarves for the both of them.

“You sure, bro?” Lardo cocks an eyebrow at him.

He smiles because he can tell she’s worried for him. “Yeah! Don’t worry, alright? I’ll drag the Grinch back with me.”

* * *

It isn’t hard to track Nursey given the footsteps in the snow, and Dex hurries to catch up with him. He doesn’t know what’s wrong, but it doesn’t matter. They’d agreed to be friends, and this is what friends do. Even when one is being a dick.

* * *

Dex finds Nursey on a bench by the river. He’s a speck of black against the white snow blanketing everything around him. Dex pulls out the spare scarf and wraps it around Derek before sitting down.

Any other day, he’d have been fine with just sitting there, waiting for a response, but it’s cold as fuck outside and his balls are gonna fall off if they stay too long, so he starts with the obvious, “you’re being a dick. I don’t know why, but you are. But, like, since this is the first time in a year, I don’t think Adam’s too mad at you. Neither am I.” Dex sighs. “Our team—we’re a family, bro. It really is like I traded in one for another. It means that no one’s gonna leave you alone to sulk. Thought you knew that.”

Time slides past them, the only moving thing in the dead night.

Derek exhales and moves closer to rest his head on Dex’s shoulder. “Why would I? Never really had a family,” Derek mumbles out.

“You have two moms. They love you.” _They have to._

Derek shrugs. “I don’t know how. They don’t know me, Will. They—” Derek laughs and it’s ugly and bitter. Dex shifts closer. “I’ve never spent the holidays with them. For as long as I’ve remembered, they’ve done things just right. They tell me they love me, kiss me goodnight and drop me off to school. But I don’t remember the last time I _talked_ to them. Every year, they’d work their asses off to get me expensive clothes, supplies and shoes and then during break, they’d fucking _leave me_ with the _maid_ while they go off and vacation somewhere. I’ve always been alone during the holidays.”

 _Jesus…_ “Well, you…you’re not alone anymore.” Dex grabs Derek’s hands in his own and makes him focus. “ _I’m here._ Adam, Chow, Lardo, we’re all here. For you. You don’t have to be alone. Derek, fuck, _I_ ’ll spend Christmas with you. Or Hanukkah or whichever. Every year if that’s what it takes for you to never feel alone on Chr—the holidays, okay? Fuck everything else. It’s in the past. Right here, right now, you’re not alone. Okay?”

Derek stares back at him, eyes wide and soft. “O-Okay.”

The kiss is sudden. An instinctive act, really, light and sweet. Dex pulls back before it can become more than a caressing comfort and ignores the way Derek follows.

Clearing his throat and smiling, Dex loops an arm around Derek’s shoulder to pull him up. “Alright then, let’s get the hell outta here. My balls are dying. The others are at the restaurant already.”

**Author's Note:**

> We are always accepting new prompts at our [tumblr](https://imaginethehaus.tumblr.com) account, so feel free to drop by with a little headcanon or ask.


End file.
